Pete Hegseth - The Deluded Teenage Male Fantasist Leading The Us Into A Disastrous War

After a play spent starting different warfare successful nan Middle East, nan United States Secretary of Defense — gosh, sorry, I mean nan United States SECRETARY OF WAR — made an quality successful beforehand of nan federation connected Monday morning.

And if anyone was hoping for reassurance from Pete Hegseth astatine this juncture, they weren’t astir to get it, because apparently his full reside had been written by a teenage boy successful betwixt lengthy stints of launching raids connected Counter Strike.

It started retired pinch a pre-emptive defense of Operation Epic Fury, nan sanction of nan subject cognition (alongside June’s “Operation War Hammer”) which must’ve been chosen by nan aforesaid teenage boy who wrote nan speech.

Gone are nan bully small hand-wringy, committee-approved titles fixed by erstwhile presidents for illustration Biden (Operation Atlantic Resolve), Obama (Inherent Resolve, Odyssey Dawn), and George W Bush (Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle.) Because what benignant of image do those pussyfooting titles conjure up?! Not LETHAL ones, that’s for sure!

Hegseth did a speedy run-through of nan things America was apparently avenging by starting nan warfare connected Saturday morning: “brothers who ne'er came home,” because of a litany of decades-long sins, including “roadside bombs successful Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Conspicuously absent were nan lines astir urgency and imminent threat that had concisely been tested complete nan weekend, moreover though he did talk astir stopping atomic and protect capabilities because “crazy regimes for illustration Iran, hell-bent connected prophetic Islamic delusions, cannot person atomic weapons.”

No, now it was really each astir Donald Trump righteously avenging each incorrect having ever been done to each American servicemember complete aggregate generations.

“A man who ever puts Americans first” was now going to “finally tie nan statement aft 47 years of Iranian belligerence.”

How amazed those MAGA voters must beryllium to perceive that’s who Donald Trump is, alternatively than nan Donald Trump they voted for, who they saw speaking astatine rallies astir nan state astir really he would “end nan everlastingly wars” and ore solely connected “America first.” But hey, group change!

Having prepped america pinch a spot of history, Hegseth past launched into a afloat gaslighting exercise: “We didn’t commencement this war, but nether President Trump we are finishing it,” he said, of nan warfare started by America and Israel 2 days prior.

“This was not a authorities alteration war,” he added, of nan warfare that specifically targeted nan Iranian authorities and minutes earlier Hegseth himself urged Iranian protesters to emergence up and alteration their government, “but nan authorities did change.”

And “to nan governmental near screaming ‘endless wars’: Stop.” Oh, OK then!

The reside sewage quickly darker arsenic it continued, escalating quickly from a we-were-just-getting-our-own-back vibe to “If you frighten Americans anyplace connected this earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation and we will termination you.”

And if Americans dice successful nan process of that hunting-down, past that nonaccomplishment is simply folded backmost into nan justification for much war.

Because, for illustration President Trump said, “there will beryllium casualties,” and nan measurement to “honor them” is to person “no apologies, nary hesitation, epic fury,” since, Hegseth added — straight addressing US troops astatine this constituent — “history doesn’t attraction if we’re tired, if we’re frightened aliases if nan conflict feels bad.”

“Warrior ethos, lethality and national of purpose” are “the beating bosom of what it intends to deterioration nan uniform,” he continued, a metaphor truthful horrifically mangled that it really did evoke nan existent quality costs of war.

“Turns retired nan authorities that chanted ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ was talented decease from America and decease from Israel,” he added, pinch a small self-satisfied smirk, a statement truthful cringey and unserious that my toes involuntarily curled.

But look, location are immoderate things that Hegseth and I tin work together on. One of them is that deluded group successful nan work of cult-like devotion should ne'er beryllium put successful complaint of lethal weapons.

And connected an unconnected note, it was really absorbing really galore times successful this reside Hegseth went correct backmost to Donald Trump himself, alternatively than to nan homeland aliases to nan Iranian group (mentioned precisely once) aliases to bid successful nan Middle East (remember nan Board of Peace, now launching its first warfare conscionable a mates weeks aft its formation? One imagines its remit mightiness beryllium astir to alteration rather considerably.)

Letting Iran tally riot “almost happened nether Obama, but not nether this president,” Hegseth said. This full Iranian rocket point “takes guts, and our president has guts.” (Your life is simply a sacrifice he’s consenting to make!) “President Trump puts America first,” he repeated, arsenic if nan saying of it mightiness make it look true. And finally, astir chillingly: “We will decorativeness this” astatine a clip and connected nan position of “President Trump’s choosing, nary 1 else’s.”

Yes, calling retired damaging, illusion hero-worship while saying this each was surely a choice.

Then location were nan really worrying parts — and yes, genuinely each nan parts were worrying, but complete nan years I’ve go reasonably adept astatine separating retired nan worrying from nan worrying.

There was nan talk astir acting pinch impunity alongside Israel, “regardless of what alleged world institutions say” (videos from wrong Iran showed patients — including a newborn babe successful an incubator — being evacuated into nan thoroughfare from nan Gandhi Hospital successful Tehran, which appeared to person been heavy damaged by shrapnel.)

There was nan declare astir “no politically correct wars,” successful opposition pinch countries that “clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing astir nan usage of force” (Iran reported complete 150 group dormant from a rocket onslaught connected a girls’ schoolhouse conducted connected Saturday, nan first time of nan Iranian schoolhouse week.)

There was nan repeated usage of nan connection “lethal,” dropped successful again and again and again, and juxtaposed pinch an eyebrow-raisingly foolish insistence that America tin extremity this warfare immoderate clip it likes. Because nan Iranian group should “take their chance and emergence up,” arsenic if they are a well-armed militia alternatively than a normal nine of moms and dads and kids and scholars and workers who were deliberately kept from organizing by a repressive authorities for decades and are hardly successful a bully position to abruptly costs warfare against their ain country’s service because Israel and America dropped a mates of bombs.

“We are not defenders immoderate more,” Hegseth told a federation of Americans who, polls show, really conscionable want their homeland to beryllium safe and their state prices and groceries to beryllium debased while salaries stagnate (gas prices are astir to skyrocket, predicted astir analysts connected Monday, arsenic nan value of lipid went sharply up pursuing nan US’s strikes connected Iran and nan consequent chaos.) “We are warriors, trained to termination nan force and break their will.”

To nan troops, he added, “don’t perceive to nan noise” and “stay focused.” To others, don’t publication nan “fake news.” In fact, conscionable don’t perceive to anything. Don’t look astatine nan media reports. All we person up present is what you need. The president will extremity this astatine a clip of his choosing. Who asked for this? Stop asking questions. It doesn’t matter immoderate more.

And by nan way, Pete Hegseth’s woman is praying for you!

May Jesus grin down connected nan unforgiving, merciless, death-oriented, non-woke, super-lethal troops of America arsenic they hunt down and termination everybody successful their way who ever wounded them. It’s what he would person wanted.